For Your Happiness
by Rurutchan
Summary: Al makes a strange request.


This idea came to me randomly. It's nothing special, but I decided to get it written down. Please tell me if it's any good, even if it seems... weird. Very weird.

* * *

"Edward…"

"Hm?"

I opened my mouth to speak again but realized that I was unsure of what to say. As I pressed my back against Nii-san's closed door, my gaze slid to a framed photograph that hung on the wall opposite of me.

"Al…?"

I could hear the floorboards creak in his bedroom and I knew that he was coming closer. With a sigh, I constructed a sentence in my mind and stepped away.

"What's wrong?" Nii-san asked, rather confused, as the door swung open and he appeared before me. "You sound… weird."

I inhaled deeply as his faint scent fell over me. His golden eyes seemed molten and alert in a way that had always fascinated me, and I finally released the line that I had planned: "I've been wondering ever since I got my body back if you would do me a favor."

Ed was clearly confused. To my surprise, he gently took my wrist and led me from the hallway to his unmade bed.

"Now, what are you talking about?" he asked, sitting beside me. His beautiful, silky hair was unbraided, and I realized that it had not ended nearly as far down his back the last time I had seen him wear it loose.

"I want to ask you something," I told him quietly, visualizing the hanging photograph of the two of us as children. "I know this is odd, but… would you cut your hair for me?"

Ed blinked several times. If he had been confused before, then there was no word for the new expression that seized his features. I merely clasped my hands together and waited.

"You want me to cut my hair," he said slowly, as though to make sure he had heard correctly. "Why, Al? I've been growing it out for a while, now."

"I know. It—it's not that I find it unattractive or anything," I insisted as warmth flooded my cheeks. "I just… think it would be easier on you if it were shorter. That's all. You wouldn't have to spend so much time tying it back."

"It really doesn't take that much time," he said warily, casting me another puzzled look. "You never mentioned anything about this before."

"But, Nii-san…"

Suddenly, he shook his head. I watched as he rose and made his way toward a mirror that stood in the corner. After studying his reflection, he rummaged around in his dresser drawer.

"If it's what you want, Al."

His hand emerged from the drawer with a scissor, and I felt a slightly sympathetic smile spread across my face. I admired Nii-san's bright tresses and knew that my unexpected request was selfish, but my reason had gotten the best of me.

I asked if he wanted me to cut it for him, but he assured me that he could do it himself.

"Thank you," I murmured guiltily, and he nodded. He disappeared into the bathroom, and after what seemed like an eternity, I was able to stop my fidgeting.

"Nii-san, you… look…"

In my opinion, he looked gorgeous. I was rendered breathless by the sight of him, but he did not seem to notice.

"Is this alright?" Nii-san asked awkwardly, grinning and returning the scissor to its place. He had somehow managed to cut it evenly with no practice. His face was still framed by bangs, but there was not nearly enough left to braid.

"Yeah…" I muttered. "Yeah. I'm sorry for making you do this."

He shrugged and said, "It's not really a big deal, Al. But… why did you actually want it?

I lowered my head and tried to think. Nii-san seemed to decide that a response was unnecessary, because he shrugged again and told me that he was going to study in the den.

He stepped out of the room, but he did not continue down the hallway. I realized that he had spotted the old picture on the wall, and he spent an unusually long while staring at it.

Finally, he turned to face me and said hesitantly, "Al?"

I smiled.

"Mm-hmm. It sounds silly, but… now that we're both whole again, I want our lives to be the same as they were before that day, in any ways possible."

He knew that I was referring to our human transmutation by "that day." He looked shocked, and I added, "I hope you don't mind, Nii-san. Seeing you this way just makes me think of us as children, before we…"

"It's okay." His tone was soft. "I'm going to study, then."

Minutes later, I dragged myself away from Nii-san's bed and into the bathroom to wash my face. I glanced at the wastebasket and saw clusters of his hair. A small part of my mind told me that they resembled strands of pure sunshine.

I suddenly wished that I had not approached him at all. To my own dismay, I felt tears gather in my eyes, but they stopped when a hand touched my shoulder.

"I meant it," a soothing voice whispered, and Nii-san leaned close to me. "It's my own fault that the happiness from our childhood wasn't maintained. I want you to believe that I'll do anything—_anything_ to bring it back to you, even if it's in little pieces."

I closed my eyes, unable to understand how a person can be so selfless. I flung my arms around Nii-san and cried, "But what about you? What about _your_ memories and _your_ feelings? I won't be happy until I know that you are, too!"

"Al," he responded, half-chuckling, "I _am_ happy. I like our new life in this apartment, and I'm more than glad that our bodies were restored. You don't have to worry about me anymore… You've spent too long doing so already."

There was nothing left to say. Sensing that the subject had been closed, I reluctantly released Nii-san, who had to bend a bit to reach my cheek with his lips; after a miraculous growth spurt, he had been able to boast that he was now taller. Of course, I did not mind, and I suddenly found myself laughing. He joined in almost immediately, and we stood there in the bathroom for God-knows-how-long, letting our cheerful laughter fill the air.

I did not have to tell Nii-san, because I was sure that he had realized it: he no longer owed me anything. I was happier than I had ever been.


End file.
